WHICH IS BETTER? | 7.1.2 vs 5.1.4 | Dolby Atmos | DTS:X

foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] Osborne and I like to talk about movies audio and music and today I want to touch on two configurations that you might have been thinking about if you're considering upgrading to a nine Channel receiver sometime soon should you go with 5.1.4 or 7.1.2 well honestly there are definite pluses and minuses to both so let's go over those details for thought you may have seen this video of mine going over where to put two height channels when dealing with a five year level speaker base and the final conclusion was that the overall best placement for two high channels giving you the best sense of immersion from above is to place them somewhere in line with your listening position whether that be in ceiling speakers right above you speakers mounted to the ceiling or mounted high up on a wall pointing down at you the only downside to that is it's not exactly as easily expandable if and when you decide to go to four height Channels with that being said you may have seen this video about two versus four high channels and the conclusion to that was that it is better to have four so that you have a more natural sense of movement with your height effects creating a 3D cube that objects can then move freely around it and when it comes to four height channels I'm still a big proponent of the science behind an ro3d setup namely that it's easier for your brain to perceive on audio coming from above you if the speakers are placed at a 30 degree angle from your listening position that's why mine are mounted on the front side and back walls at 30 degrees as opposed to somewhere between me and the screen now for this test I once again Revisited the Corner's pixie scene from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets but also Midway specifically chapter 13 since the sound design is insane every time it's the first person view on the planes are dive bombing straight toward the aircraft carriers from above bullets constantly whizzing by it's crazy there's this one part that I kept rewinding over and over again and that was here when this dude is like we got to attack like immediately but then he looks up because planes are approaching in the theater I stood up on the couch arm and put my ear to the side Heights when I had it set to 7.1.2 and the sound of the planes is literally only in the Heights it doesn't bleed into the surrounds or surround backs at all it's really cool just a testament to this mix in particular because they properly had Atmos in mind now there are moments where planes flew across the screen and having surround backs was spectacular just enveloping me leading into the next shot bullets again whizzing by felt like they were moving through me almost the spray of the water all around me and a sense of scale with those two heights flanking my couch but then I switched it to 5.1.4 and I gotta say even though my surrounds are located right here directly to the sides of the couch those same shots were the planes were moving from one side of the screen to the other it still played with my binaural sense of hearing and it still sounded like they were traveling behind me not exactly to the same extent of having actual surround backs but almost there you know and now since I have four Heights instead of just two the sense of movement with height effects translated better like that same scene where the general looks up there's some movement there instead of just seeming like the planes are above me let me rewind a bit though I get how some of you out there are team seven ear level speakers all day every day am I right so there is some truth to wanting seven speakers on that plane because let's not forget not all Atmos mixes are created equal so there will be plenty of films or TV shows you watch that have very minimal height effects or they're so subtle and Atmospheric that you don't get much out of having four Heights anyway typically more audio will be consistently coming out of your ear level speakers so having a 7.1.2 setup does have its pluses in that regard but if you have a 7.1.2 setup and your Heights are mounted straight above you or to the sides when you decide to upgrade to a 7.1.4 configuration you can't really have those Heights above your listening position anymore to get the best effect the heights will need to be in front and behind your listening position so that's possibly going to require patching up holes in your ceiling or patching up screw holes which isn't the funnest thing in the world because going from a 5.1.4 setup to a 7.1.4 setup is super easy just reposition your surrounds to your sides and add two speakers behind you for surround backs boom done but I also know that having surround backs is just not possible for a lot of you out there since your couch may be right up against the wall so you have to go with a 5.1.4 setup but even with 5.1.4 as most diagrams will show you it's best to have your surround slightly behind your listening position anyway so I honestly think that is the best setup if your listening space allows for it 5.1.4 was surround slightly behind you angled inward a bit it still gives you a sense of immersion behind you you've already got Heights placed where they need to be for the best movement of effects when they happen and all you got to do is move the surrounds and add surround backs when you expand to 7.1.4 but there is one scenario where seven point 0.1.2 can work without having to do some drywall patching in the future let's say your ultimate goal is to have 7.1.6 now you can start with those two height speakers above you then just add two more in the front and two more in the back you want to know what's crazy though the new Denon and Marantz AVR is coming out not only support up to four subwoofers but also up to six height channels like with the x3800h and 4800h I don't know if you knew this but that is totally unique to any other AVR in its class instead of having a 7.4.4 setup with the help of an external amp you could potentially have a 5.4.6 setup what I don't even know what that sounds like but I'm stoked that it's even a possibility now since they're adding support for six Heights though I wish they also would have added support for front wides to possibly have up to a 9.4.2 configuration but alas such is not the case oh calf so my conclusion is this if you must have seven ear level speakers then go ahead and have your 7.1.2 configuration it really is a superior sense of immersion and is more consistent I might add but the ability to expand easily is not that easy unless you someday plan on going with a 7.1.6 setup so today I hereby decree that the best configuration for immersion and ease of future expandability is 5.1.4 because four height channels can last a long time for your home theater needs given that 7.1.4 and even 9.1.4 sound incredible so once those four speakers are mounted up there they can potentially stay up there for years and years to come my friends let's go the atmos achievement unlocked thank you for joining me on this breakdown of nine Channel configurations what are your ultimate goals for expansion are you one of those limited by having a couch right up against the back wall it's 5.1.4 good enough for you and there's no reason to move on from there let's start a conversation people as always please be kind to each other out there don't just watch TV and movies in 5.1.4 experience them and of course always be listed [Music]

Channel: Ealan Osborne

Views: 98,527

Keywords: dolby atmos, home theater, dolby atmos setup, home theater setup, home cinema, surround sound, dolby atmos soundbar, atmos setup, home theater system, atmos speakers, height speaker placement, dts x, home cinema setup, dolby atmos demo, svs prime elevation, dolby atmos speakers, dolby atmos speaker placement, dolby atmos review, dolby atmos speaker setup, dolby atmos test, aperion audio, aperion, emotiva, aperion a5, home audio, hifi, hifi audio, hifi home theater

Id: bTTgKQ1Jexo

Length: 8min 2sec (482 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 28 2022